


no good

by breadangel



Category: The Boyz (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, Strangers to Lovers, best friends juyeon & changmin, ex-con!juyeon, side couple bbangkyu, step brothers 2jae, troublemaker!eric
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2020-07-08
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:47:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25147189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/breadangel/pseuds/breadangel
Summary: When Juyeon is released from prison after three years, he's determined to leave his past behind and lead a crime free life.It's a solid plain, until he unknowingly takes Eric, a cheeky troublemaking college student, under his wing.
Relationships: Ji Changmin | Q/Kim Younghoon, Lee Juyeon/Son Youngjae | Eric
Comments: 10
Kudos: 95





	no good

It’s eerily dark out when the gates open to signify Juyeon’s newfound freedom. Not one to scare easily in front of practically anything (yeah, close to three years of prison does that to you), Juyeon wonders if it’s true that it is a different world out here. Clutching his small, black backpack in his arms, his eyes dart around in confusion.

The guard assigned to release him yawns ignorantly, not a care in the world for Juyeon’s inner turmoil.

“You should be able to get a taxi if you walk down this road. Take care.” Without even another word of encouragement, he slams the gates behind him, leaving Juyeon to his own devices. It’s almost sarcastic, the guard’s suggestion of taking a taxi. With a scarce amount of money on his hands right now or a midnight bus to take him where he needs to go, Juyeon fears he might fare better inside the prison than out.

He should be here. He promised him they would be.

Huffing in annoyance, Juyeon comes to accept that it’s past midnight and nobody in their right minds would come out of their way to accept him with open arms. It’s going to be a long walk down to the nearest bus stop.

“Ya! Lee Juyeon!”

A piercing scream is what shakes Juyeon out of his self misery. Reacting immediately to the shrill but familiar voice, Juyeon can’t help but smile when he sees his best friend sprinting towards him at full speed.

Without any prior warning, he’s forced into a koala bear hug that almost knocks his entire body over.

“I missed you,” his friend mumbles into his shoulder, voice already wobbly. “I’m so glad you’re out.”

Juyeon allows himself to wallow in his first skinship in three years, “I missed you too, Ji Changmin. What took you so long? I thought you wouldn’t come for me, and you promised over the phone last week.” He’s aware that he’s whining loudly like a five-year-old, but Changmin doesn’t seem to mind, or even take notice so he can use it as blackmail against Juyeon later.

“We would’ve been on time, but  _ someone  _ insisted that we buy you a bag of tofu last minute. Tell me, what kind of tofu shops open at midnight?”

Though Juyeon had seen his shadow trailing behind Changmin earlier, he wasn’t sure of the identity of his second visitor. Now, seeing the almost emotionless except for a tinge of annoyance (meant for Changmin) and a hint of a smile (probably meant for Juyeon), he’s sure.

“Hyunjae hyung,” Juyeon finally manages to peel Changmin off himself for a second to go over and give the older boy a big hug. He definitely wasn’t expecting to see anyone except for Changmin here.

Almost as if he can read Juyeon’s mind, Hyunjae rubs Juyeon’s back comfortingly, like the older brother Juyeon never really had, “Changmin told me about your release date. I had to come but didn’t know how to tell you. So… surprise?”

Unlike Changmin who made it a point to come down and visit his friend personally at least once a month and called him regularly (so much so that Juyeon’s prison cellmates believed that Changmin was his actual boyfriend), Hyunjae never showed up or called once.

Juyeon tried to understand - just like he tried to reason through why many of his friends cut contact with him after they heard that he was going to prison - but Hyunjae’s disappearance probably hurt a little more, maybe because he felt that he had greatly disappointed his friend.

“No, I’m glad you’re here,” Juyeon replies, and he means it.

“Are you hungry?” Changmin cuts in between them, obliviously ruining the beautiful reunion between two friends. “I’m sure you are. Are you craving anything? Do you want to eat fried chicken? Do they have fried chicken in there?”

With Changmin fussing over what to get Juyeon for his first meal out, Juyeon and Hyunjae let go of each other, albeit a little embarrassed because neither of them had ever shared such an intimate hug with each other before.

Blowing his air out of his mouth to dispel the awkwardness, Hyunjae turns to stop Changmin from jumping around Juyeon like he’s on a sugar high, “How about you save the questions till after we get a taxi? Are you okay with beef, Juyeon? A friend I know works at a place that opens till late, we could get a huge discount. Plus, the food is great.”

Without missing a beat, Hyunjae remembers to add, “My treat, of course.”

“Yeah. That would be awesome,” Juyeon grins, the thought of having beef already a luxury for him. 

“Beef it is then,” Hyunjae muses, already glued to his phone so Changmin can continue bombarding Juyeon with his incessant questioning. It’s just like the old times.

When the three of them leave in a taxi that Hyunjae calls for them, Juyeon doesn’t even look back once.

  
  


The culture shock comes when Juyeon realises the barbeque place is filled to the brim with young adults that don’t seem to tire of meat and beer. He starts to worry if they can get a place in the bustling restaurant, until Hyunjae gets the attention of a pink-haired boy with porcelain like skin.

“Chanhee-ya, let your hyung have a table, hmm? I know you have one of those hidden in the back, I’ll tip you well.”

The sight of Hyunjae begging is one to behold. Juyeon just watches while his jaw drops, but Changmin doesn’t even bat an eyelid, as if he’s seen this over a million times.

The boy rolls his eyes, immune to Hyunjae’s actions, “For the nth time, this is Korea, please  _ do not _ tip your waiters. Follow me.” Obediently, the three boys make their way past the crowd and score a seat at the back of the restaurant.

While he takes their orders from Hyunjae without even batting an eye as the older boy rattles items off the menu like he memorised them, he notices Juyeon and says, “Oh, you’re a new face.”

Changmin slings an arm around Juyeon’s shoulder, squeezing him tight, “This is Juyeon. Juyeon, that’s Chanhee. Don’t piss him off and you might get a few glasses of beer for free every now and then.”

Slightly intimidated by Chanhee’s aura, Juyeon nods quickly so the other knows he’s not here to step on anyone’s toes.

“Don’t listen to them, I’m nice when I need to be. I’ll be back with your drinks soon,” Chanhee says, already rushing off to do something else. Juyeon’s heart warms at the mere implication of a new found acquaintance - or friend. He had already come to terms that those wouldn’t come by easy after his release.

Chanhee reappears a minute later, bringing them their beer and starters. Hyunjae takes the lead in grilling the meat for the two younger boys, so Juyeon just shoots him a grateful smile and accepts the gesture.

“So,” Juyeon nudges Changmin. “Where’s your boyfriend?”

There wasn’t one visit where Changmin would shut up about his (real) partner. So far, Juyeon knows his name, age, and their love story by heart. No phones were allowed during visitation, so he’s unsure if this so-called Kim Younghoon is as perfect as Changmin swears.

At the mention of his boyfriend, Changmin pouts, “He’s working. Some small modelling gig out of town. He was supposed to be here, but the shoot got delayed.”

_ Modelling _ , Juyeon muses silently.

“I can hear you thinking out loud,” Changmin grumbles, stuffing his face with meat and beer. With his cheeks full of food, he continues to sulk, “Just because I tricked you that one time does not mean I am lying about Younghoon hyung. Ask Hyunjae hyung, he is very real.”

Now dragged into the conversation, Hyunjae speaks up, “Yeah, they’re real alright. Real and disgustingly cute. I know Younghoon, we’re the same age, so I see him around in school sometimes. Have I mentioned that we were from the same hometown?”

“So similar, yet so different,” Changmin sighs dreamily, leaning his cheek against his hand while somehow professionally dodging the chopsticks Hyunjae doesn’t hesitate to throw in his direction.

Between his two friends bickering back and forth, Juyeon belatedly realises how behind time he is. While everyone formed connections with people from college or their hometowns, he has no one. He barely finished high school when everything happened.

Noticing that Juyeon has gone quiet again, Changmin squeezes his arm, “You’re okay, Juyeon-ie. It’s going to be okay.”

He’s beyond blessed to even have Changmin and Hyunjae sitting at this table with him. He doesn’t think he would know what to do if he didn’t. Forcing a smile to convince Changmin that he’s okay, Juyeon goes back to munching on his food while his two friends are eager to jump into lighthearted topics to ease the mood.

A few hours later, when Changmin is slightly tipsy and slurring his words, Juyeon excuses himself to go outside for a smoke. He doesn’t explicitly say so, and it doesn’t seem like Changmin is paying much attention to whatever he says anyway.

“Picked up a new habit while you were in there?”

Hyunjae’s voice slightly startles Juyeon, and he knows he’s wearing a guilty look on his face when their eyes meet.

There’s no use hiding from Hyunjae. Lying isn’t in Juyeon’s nature anyway. Lighting his cigarette again, Juyeon says, “It was readily available inside prison. I just needed to rely on something that wasn’t drugs to not kill myself in there, you know?”

Hyunjae flinches at Juyeon’s crude choice of words, and Juyeon is shocked himself that he would speak like that to the older boy. It might be the alcohol loosening up his tongue, but he tries not to dwell too much on it.

“Does Changmin know?”

No one knows how to make Juyeon feel bad himself better than Hyunjae.

“Does he have to?” Juyeon sighs. “He wouldn’t be able to do anything, anyway.”

“He’d be hurt,” Hyunjae says, professionally avoiding Juyeon’s question. “I think you’ve already hurt him enough, haven’t you?”

Blowing the smoke out of his mouth, Juyeon feels his anger rise up in his throat but tries to pay it no attention. Hyunjae’s blunt words have always been like a sword;  _ cutting _ . It’s not one of his best qualities. But who is Juyeon to judge?

Fixing his gaze on Hyunjae, Juyeon says, “Changmin is my best friend. I wouldn’t ever do anything to hurt him more than I already have. That’s not up to you to decide, hyung.”

A look of defiance flashes across Hyunjae’s eyes and Juyeon can see him opening up his mouth to argue. For some reason, he decides against it, instead choosing to wrap his hand around Juyeon’s right wrist and lift it up to their eye level.

“If you don’t want to hurt him, then you’re going to have to do something about  _ this _ .” 

Without even realising, Juyeon’s fingers have already curled into a tight fist, ready to punch someone, something.  _ Not Hyunjae _ , Juyeon has to convince himself. Releasing his fingers, Juyeon lets out a breath he had unknowingly held, suddenly feeling weaker than before.

Hyunjae lets his wrist go, then clears his throat like nothing had happened.

“Younghoon is coming to pick Changmin up in five minutes. I’m carpooling home with them, you want to join? I’m sure Younghoon wouldn’t mind,” Hyunjae offers, typing furiously on his phone, probably conversing with Younghoon right now.

As much as Juyeon wants to see Younghoon for himself, he doesn’t feel like their first meeting should be when one of them is half drunk and feeling like utter crap. He shakes his head, “I’m fine. I’m going in the opposite direction, anyway.”

Hyunjae finally lifts his head, “You don’t even know which way-”

“Drop it, hyung.” Juyeon cuts him off. “Okay?”

Pursing his lips, Juyeon considers apologising.

“I’ll go say goodbye to Changmin before leaving. Thanks for the treat, hyung.”

  
  
  


Before Juyeon can slip out the door to avoid bumping into Hyunjae again, someone pulls him back. The familiar pink head from before scans Juyeon from head to toe with an expressionless face.

Assuming that Chanhee is stopping him from running off without paying, Juyeon explains “Hyunjae said he would pay.”

“I know, he always pays,” Chanhee huffs. “Look, Changmin told me about your situation. You’re going to need some help. I know this guy from way back when I was doing part time jobs in high school. He’ll have a job for you. It’s not easy, but the pay is alright and he’ll take good care of you, no questions asked about your past… or whatever.”

Accepting the paper that Chanhee has offered out to Juyeon, he scans through the person’s name and contact number.

“If he bullies you, let me know. I’ll knock him out,” Chanhee adds, eyebrows forming a worried frown on his slightly sweaty forehead. Juyeon would love to laugh and ask Chanhee how someone as tiny as him would knock anyone out but decides against it. Plus, Chanhee does not look like he plays around.

With utmost gratitude, Juyeon thanks Chanhee, “I needed this. Thank you so much.”

For a moment, Chanhee’s cold exterior seems to crack. There’s a hint of a smile on Chanhee’s plush, doll-like lips when he says, “That’s what friends are for, right? Come by if you want more meat.”

And then, he quickly disappears as a table of customers call him over for his help. Keeping Chanhee’s paper safely in his pocket, Juyeon swears he will work as diligently as his new friend, whatever his new job entails.

  
  
  


“You’re up early.”

The voice startles Eric out of the sofa he was just starting to make himself comfortable in. His blurry vision focuses on the figure that peeks its head through the front door, where the first rays of sunlight have surfaced. 

“You’re home late,” Eric mumbles through his sleepy haze, taking out his airpods that have been blasting music for the past... four? five? hours. He hasn’t been keeping track.

Hyunjae closes the door behind him with utmost care, and Eric can already smell the alcohol and barbeque meat on his clothes. When his brother notices how quickly his sensitive nose wrinkles in response, Hyunjae explains bashfully, “I was out with my friends.”

He doesn’t owe Eric an explanation, but the younger thinks that it could be Hyunjae’s way of getting closer to him. They’ve been trying that out lately - ever since Eric moved back to Korea from LA. He just can’t tell for sure if it’s working.

Just when Eric thinks he’s in the clear, Hyunjae asks, “You okay? You haven’t slept, have you?”

Wondering how the other can see through him like a piece of glass, Eric shakes his head and rubs his eyes sleepily, “I tried. Guess I’m just not sleepy. ‘S okay though, tomorrow’s a Saturday.”

Ruffling his hair, Hyunjae’s tone is laced with concern, like he knows Eric is lying but doesn’t want to call him out for it. “You mean today  _ is  _ Saturday, Eric. We both need to go to bed before we mess up our sleep schedule any more. Come on.”

Eric doesn’t tell Hyunjae that it’s an absolute chore to try and go to sleep. While sleep comes easy to his brother, it’s a nightmare for himself. Afraid that his problems are going to sound too dramatic, Eric just allows Hyunjae to pull him off the couch and shuffle him into his bedroom.

Just before Hyunjae leaves to go to his own room, he looks back at Eric.

“Are you sure everything’s okay? You can tell me anything, you know that right?”

Eric puts on his best puppy smile, the one he knows tugs at the heartstrings of his older brother, “I know. Thanks, hyung.”

Almost immediately, Hyunjae’s gaze softens. Eric knows it’s because he rarely addresses the other by “hyung”. It comes out a little awkward, but he means it. Hyunjae looks like he wants to say something else, but settles for a quiet nod and returns to his room after.

As he falls back onto his bed, Eric tries to close his eyes and drift off. It isn’t until hours, and hours later until he truly does, though.

  
  
  
  


Just like Chanhee had promised Juyeon, the slightly older yet friendly man does have a job ready for him. As Sangyeon shows him around the nicely sized and otherwise cosy convenience store, Juyeon can hardly believe his luck. As far as he knows, many people around his age go into laborious jobs after their release.

“There’s labour, for sure,” Sangyeon explains after Juyeon brings it up. “We get stocks delivered daily in the morning, so you’re going to have to come early and open up, carry the stocks in, throw out expired items, clean. I could go on, really.”

As if he can see how suddenly Juyeon is burdened by the amount of work falling onto him at once, Sangyeon tries his best to cheer his new part timer up, “Don’t worry. Kevin’s going to be around to help you out.”

“Kevin?”

“He’s the part timer that works on weekday nights and sometimes on weekends. He’s a college student, so you two might be of the same age,” Sangyeon explains, then suddenly turns red as he realises what he just implied. “I mean- not all young adults your age have to be in college, I just meant-”

Juyeon jumps in to help, “It’s okay. I understand, it’s cool, really.”

Sure, Juyeon is probably one of those kids that will never make it to college, but he realised a long time ago that it’s not going to do him any good by dwelling on that fact. What matters is that he has a job, and he has a small place that Changmin had recommended to him. He’s going to be able to pay rent and feed himself.

It’s good enough, for now.

Sangyeon smiles, relieved, “Here, let me show you how to use the cash machine.”

  
  
  


It’s a little past dinner time when Eric barges into the first convenience store in sight. After turning his head to make sure that no one is following him, he immediately turns toward the medical supply section. Unfortunately, there’s only so much he can get here. He might have better luck if he looks for a pharmacy instead.

“Is there something I can help you with?”

Jolting out of his daze, Eric comes face to face with a boy who cannot be much older than himself. He’s peering at where Eric was browsing earlier, curious eyes eager to offer some kind of assistance. 

Suddenly reminded of the state he is in, Eric ducks his head down in embarrassment, which is also partly at the fact that his sub-consciousness realises how good looking the store assistant is. 

“Um, I was actually looking for some ointment…” Eric stutters, suddenly losing control of his ability to form coherent sentences in front of this strikingly handsome stranger. To his surprise, the store assistant kneels down and reaches into one of the shelves to reveal a small variety of basic ointments for cuts and bruises.

Looking quite unsure himself, the stranger explains, “I just started working here a few days ago, so I’m not sure where everything is. But um, you could take your pick from these?”

Holding out the thin tubes on his (weirdly gigantic) palms as if he’s offering Eric candies to choose from, the store assistant wears a soft smile on his face that is strangely comforting for someone that was panicking a while ago.

Already blushing at the tips of his ears, Eric picks a random ointment, not even bothering to check the uses or price.

“Thank you,” he somehow manages to squeak out. 

“You’re welcome,” the clerk smiles again, breaking out of the cold and unapproachable expression Eric notices he wears on his face when he isn’t smiling. He tries to pay minimal attention, and cannot help but giggle a little when the clerk accidentally bumps his head against the shelf while standing up.

“Oh my God. Are you okay?” Eric barely manages to ask as the clerk rubs his head in pain. He feels bad for laughing at the other’s misery, but it’s endearing to see such a tall and broad boy have a clumsy side to him.

“I’m fine!” he says a little too quickly to cover up the embarrassment, “Is there anything else you need?”

There isn’t, but Eric surprises himself by saying, “I’ll look around, thanks.”

The boy quickly shuffles out of his way after that, still mumbling the words “ow” to himself when he returns to his post at the cashier. For someone that comes off scary at first, Eric finds himself laughing silently to himself about the unexpected clumsiness.

He hasn’t had dinner, and wasn’t planning to, but when he spots his favourite ramen brand sitting along one of the shelves, his resolve is broken immediately. 

A few seconds later, when he lays out the items at the cashier, he doesn’t even try to hide the sneaking glances he takes of the other boy. He’s unbelievably stunning to look at, Eric belatedly realises. 

“That’ll be $12.”

“Here,” Eric feels like a schoolboy when their fingers touch for a split second as he passes the money over. “And I’m sorry about the bump. When I think about it, it’s kind of my fault since I asked you for help.”

“Don’t be silly,” the clerk says, in a voice deeper than his earlier one. Eric recognises it as his real voice, a non-customer service voice. “You’re the one who should take care of yourself.”

“Huh?” Eric’s brain short circuits for the second time in front of the cute guy, eyes catching a glance of the stranger’s name tag.

_ Juyeon. _

It’s a really nice name.

The clerk who now has a name in Eric’s mind - Juyeon - points to Eric’s bottom lip, which he now remembers is probably an ugly purple. 

Laughing in an attempt to brush his injury off, “I’m fine. Thank you, again.”

Juyeon looks worried, but Eric tries not to dwell too much on that. Anyone who comes across someone with a busted lip would be concerned on their behalf. Juyeon clears his throat, and hands Eric a small plastic bag containing his items, “Have a good night.”

When the cool wind brushes against Eric’s cheeks as he exits the store, it feels almost as if the time he spent in there wasn’t real. Looking back to make sure Juyeon isn’t just a figment of his imagination he pathetically made up to feel better about himself, he relaxes when he sees Juyeon going to arrange the soft drink cans Eric unintentionally messed up earlier. 

Despite its rough start, Eric’s night has just gotten about a million times better, and while he walks back to his dorm, there’s an unfamiliar spring in his footsteps.

  
  
  


Kevin Moon, as Sangyeon marketed, is one of the sweetest people Juyeon has ever met in his 22 years of living. They were first introduced when the skinny college boy announced his arrival one night. After about a week of saying hello to each other when Kevin came to take over the night shift, Juyeon gathered some knowledge about the other.

One, Kevin’s insanely talented. Second, that Kevin values his ipad above anything else.

“It’s the sole reason I’m working my butt off here. Plus, art school is expensive,” Kevin explains when Juyeon asks why he’s constantly on that device when there weren’t any customers in the store.

The boy who migrated to Toronto and then back to Korea is warm and intelligent, and has never made Juyeon feel like any less of a person.

“Yo, Juyeon!”

“Hey, Kev,” Juyeon grins as his friend saunters into the store that evening, a bright smile plastered on his face even after a gruelling day of classes. How does he do that? Juyeon worries on behalf of his friend. If it were him, he would definitely not be able to juggle school and work, and be as cheery as Kevin.

“I got it from here, you should go home and rest. It’s Friday, you shouldn’t be slaving away here,” Kevin starts rattling off, and hand to his own heart, Juyeon enjoys it. Having someone to talk to is an underrated blessing in life that he’ll never ever take for granted again.

He huffs while Kevin puts on the uniform, replying, “And you should?”

“Don’t remind me,” Kevin fakes cry, making Juyeon laugh. “I’m single, broke, with no social life. You can do better than me, Juyeon. Now get out of here - before I tell Sangyeon to give you more shifts.”

Juyeon quickly tidies up, making sure to leave as little work as possible left for Kevin so that the boy can concentrate on studying and drawing while he watches the store.

“No plans tonight?” Kevin naturally engages Juyeon in conversation while he packs up.

“My only friend is having a date night with his boyfriend,” Juyeon fakes a disgusted face. Changmin had ditched him for Younghoon, citing reasons that Juyeon can’t recite with his own tongue. They’re meeting tomorrow instead, as Sangyeon has so kindly provided him one day off this week. Juyeon will get his revenge on Changmin then.

“Relatable,” Kevin sighs, shaking his head in mock despair. “Rest well, Juyeon.”

Juyeon waves goodbye to his friend, and quickly embarks on the journey home, already looking forward to cuddling up in bed and catching up with the new documentary series he discovered earlier this week.

  
  
  


**Hyunjae**

_ Are you coming home this weekend? _

Eric winces involuntarily when the fated message from Hyunjae arrives. 

**Eric**

_ Nope _

**Hyunjae**

Okay

Just when Eric thinks he’s in the clear, another message from Hyunjae arrives. Of course, the older boy never holds back when it comes to things that are hard for the average person to say.

**Hyunjae**

_ Eric _

_ The school called _

_ Dad wasn’t home, so I picked up _

_ Is everything okay? _

Eric can play off not returning home for the weekend as studying hard for midterms. His Dad will buy that, no doubt. He loves the fact that both his sons have made it to top colleges in Korea, and are studying in two of the most sought after majors. 

It’s Hyunjae he’s not so sure he can lie to.

**Eric**

_ Yes _

_ Please don’t tell Dad _

_ I’m fine _

When he thinks about it, it’s clear that Hyunjae takes after their father more than Eric does. The strict, no-nonsense, but warm approach that Hyunjae takes with Eric is something he’s lived with even before the older boy came into his life.

With Hyunjae around, the righteousness and need to serve justice at the table is doubled. Anyone who sees Hyunjae sees the son of their town’s honourable police chief who will graduate with a prestigious degree in criminology next year.

**Hyunjae**

_ …  _

_ I won’t _

_ But you have to talk to me if there’s a problem at school _

Eric doesn’t know how to reply to that, so he doesn’t. He flips his phone around and sits up from where he was lying down on the rubbery playground floor. He’s feeling lightheaded, and it may be because he hasn’t eaten anything all day, or because of the gash on his forehead.

This time, a visit to a convenience store won’t do the trick.

Getting up on his feet, Eric starts looking around if there is a family clinic he can go to. It’s a dark and unknown street, a distance away from the college dorms. Hugging his backpack in front of him for some sort of emotional support, Eric’s attention is quickly stolen by a tall figure walking down the same street towards him.

Swallowing his pride, Eric approaches the stranger, “Hey, do you know if there’s a clinic or pharmacy nearby where I can- oh, it’s  _ you _ .”

A week after their first encounter, Eric had genuinely pushed the memory of the gorgeous store clerk out of his mind, only to once again, meet him in the most twisted of fates.

Juyeon, Eric instantly recalls. Of course, he is no longer wearing the blue uniform that all store clerks usually have on. However, everything else - from the intense gaze to the towering aura - stays the same. Juyeon’s eyes scan Eric from head to toe. For a moment, he’s confused. Then, realisation hits him.

“Yeah, I remember you from before,” Juyeon finally speaks, his deep voice once again stirring something in Eric’s chest. “Hey, are you okay? You don’t look so good.”

Chewing on his bottom lip while debating if he should ask Juyeon for help or run away, Eric replies in a meek voice that seems to surface only when the other boy is around, “Yeah. I think I need a doctor.”

A wave of worry washes across Juyeon when the words escape Eric’s mouth, his body tenses visibly as he grabs Eric’s wrist impulsively, “Do you feel faint? Can you walk? Do I need to call an ambulance?”

The questions stun Eric, as he wasn’t expecting Juyeon to care this much, but he shakes his head numbly, “I’m fine, if you could just point me to the nearest doctor-”

“Sure,” Juyeon nods, with enough conviction that Eric doesn’t feel as scared as before. “It’s a few minutes walk from here. You sure you’re okay? Come on.”

Eric tries his best not to think about how Juyeon keeps his grip on Eric’s wrist all the way to the small clinic down the road, and only really lets go once the nurse there tells Eric he has to go to the doctor’s room.

“Oh, sorry,” Juyeon apologises quickly when he releases Eric’s wrist, as if he wasn’t aware of it either. “Go in. I’ll wait here for you.”

He barely has time to mumble a soft “thanks” before the nurse ushers him in.

  
  
  


Juyeon finally looks up from where his hands are clasped together worriedly when the door to the doctor’s room clicks open, and the young boy from before shuffles out, looking much better than before. His pale complexion is now replaced with colour as he smiles gratefully at Juyeon before going to settle the bill at the counter.

He barely knows the boy, their previous encounter at the convenience the only connection between the both of them. Yet, he had felt an indescribable need to make sure that the boy was given the help he needed.

“Hey, I’m sorry about earlier. I really, really, owe you one,” the boy says when he rejoins Juyeon outside the clinic.

The blonde, bearing the world’s most alluring puppy eyes he’s seen, seems conflicted about their encounter tonight, as if embarrassed to show this side of him to Juyeon not once, but two times in a row.

For Juyeon, he’s seen much, much worse. He’s relieved to see that the boy doesn’t seem to be hurt too badly, but he cannot help but think about next time. The first time, a busted lip. Second, the same boy comes pleading for help with a gash on his forehead.

“I’m Juyeon,” he says, in spite of the multiple situations he starts spinning in his head, many of them ending with the young boy hurt beyond recognition. “You?”

“Eric,” he replies cheerily, injury already forgotten. “I knew, though?”

While Juyeon tries to figure out what Eric is referring to, he adds, “Your name, I mean. I saw your name tag from before. That’s not creepy, right?”

Not exactly, Juyeon thinks. Sure, he would be freaked if a customer remembered his name after one encounter but it doesn’t seem like Eric means any harm. Shaking his head, Juyeon replies, “Nah, it’s cool. Did the doctor give you medicine?”

Holding up his medicine bag like a trophy, Eric grins, “A whole lot of it. I guess I’ll figure out how to use them later.”

Sighing without any intent of malice, Juyeon holds out his hand. “Let me see. I’ll help.” He’s already brought Eric to the doctor, and he has a feeling that if he doesn’t show Eric which medicine to take exactly, the visit might be rendered useless.

Before Eric can protest, Juyeon grabs the bag from the other, then peers inside.

Thankfully, there isn’t much.

“These,” Juyeon holds up a white bottle, “are called painkillers. You take these only if you feel pain. This bottle, see the yellow label? You have to take two pills twice a day. Finish these. As for this ointment, apply it and make sure nothing wet touches the area.”

With Eric paying attention to his every word like he’s a priest preaching at a Sunday service, Juyeon finally rests assured that the boy is in good hands. “Now, I don’t want to see you coming to me again, understand?”

Eric’s face falls, and Juyeon blinks before jumping in after a few seconds, “That’s not what I meant! I just don’t want our next encounter to be me bringing you to the hospital or something. Just - take care of yourself, please, Eric?”

Afraid that he unintentionally hurt the other boy’s feelings, Juyeon feels instant relief when the other boy breaks out into a smile.

“I owe you a huge one, Juyeon…” Eric trails off, his head tilting to the side like a puppy as he tries to figure out where Juyeon stands on the age scale.

“I’m 22, probably older than you,” Juyeon helpfully supplies.

“Juyeon hyung,” Eric honest to god beams at Juyeon like he’s never seen anyone like him. “It’s okay if I call you that?”

Suddenly very aware of how he’s unconsciously staring at Eric which may have something to do with the way his stomach suddenly feels as if he’s swallowed a million butterflies and they’re all swarming inside him right now, Juyeon gulps nervously, wondering if Eric can tell that he’s losing it right now. 

“Yes, of course. Then, I won’t speak to you formally either." 

Excitedly nodding at Juyeon’s suggestion, Eric holds out his hand as an offer. “Friends?”

“Friends,” Juyeon takes his hand, only to find himself fixated on how his right hand envelopes Eric’s warm one. “You still have to call me hyung, though.”

Eyes twinkling with child-like mischief, Eric giggles, sending another wave of unidentifiable feelings down Juyeon’s stomach, “Never took you for a stickler for honorifics, Juyeon hyung.” 

God damn, Juyeon curses internally. The boy is absolutely adorable, and it’s not okay at all for him to think that. The boy is hurt, for God’s sake. Not to mention, this is only their second meeting.

“Is that your dinner?” Eric looks at the bento box Juyeon had taken from the store earlier. It’s one day past the expiration date, so it’s free for employees to take. Yeah, Juyeon thought it looked a little sad at first. Even though it doesn’t taste as great as the freshly delivered ones, it still goes well with beer and really, he doesn’t care when he could be doing much worse.

Eric doesn’t comment on Juyeon’s dinner anymore, and instead, grabs Juyeon’s arm like they’re longtime friends and starts dragging him down to where the streets are a little busier.

“Eric-” He doesn’t get much of a word out when Eric shushes him, “I’m not going to let my lifesaver eat a bento box for dinner. It’s my treat tonight.”

Bewildered at how quickly Eric warms up to him after just two encounters, Juyeon doesn’t even have time to try and protest. It seems that the other boy is adamant in doing something nice in return. Plus, Juyeon doesn’t think he could ever deny Eric’s puss-in-boots looking eyes  _ anything _ . 

Hell, if Eric asked Juyeon to buy him dinner tonight he might even consider blowing his hard earned salary on it.

Embarrassed that his imagination flies far within a few seconds, Juyeon doesn’t even realise when Eric leads them into a small store in the corner of the street. Only one other couple is there, and Eric looks like he recognises the owner, even. 

Honestly, Juyeon would not be surprised if Eric knew half the random strangers on the street. He looks like the type to make friends easily, which is a relief for someone like Juyeon who absolutely blows at first impressions because he’s too awkward to say something first for fear of looking like an idiot in front of strangers.

“Oh! Eric-ah, you brought a friend?”

Letting out a blinding smile to the old woman who is cooking behind the counter, Eric nods, eager to refer to Juyeon as someone more than a mere acquaintance, “This is Juyeon hyung! He brought me to the doctor earlier so I’m treating him to dinner. Please bring me my usual.” His smile suddenly disappears when he turns to Juyeon, “Oh sorry hyung, I didn’t even ask you what you wanted. Here, they have-”

Before Eric can lose himself in his mountain of words, Juyeon cuts him off naturally without sounding rude, “Whatever you’re having is fine, really.”

The owner shares a knowing smile with Juyeon, communicating with her eyes as she shakes her head fondly at both of them. 

“I hope you like beef bone soup. This is my favourite store, also maybe cause the ahjumma gives me lots of side dishes,” Eric gushes, hands rushing to hand Juyeon his cutlery. Even though it’s hard to process all the information Eric pours out of his system about this store to Juyeon without any brain to mouth filter, he somehow doesn’t tire of listening.

In fact, he finds it comforting, but can’t put his finger on exactly why.

“-yeah well, unfortunately, ahjumma rejected my idea of having a membership service. Don’t you think having a membership service would encourage more return customers?”

Eric finally stops talking to look at Juyeon, “I’m doing that thing again, aren’t I? Talking your ear off when you didn’t even ask.”

Filling his cup with water, Juyeon shakes his head, “Here, take a sip before you continue. Also, a membership sounds pretty smart, but honestly, those work better for chain restaurants. For now, I think you’re going to be their only returning customer here.”

Pouting, Eric nods while gulping water down, replenishing his throat that must have gone dry by now because of all the talking, “Yeah, you’re right. I kinda don’t want anyone to discover this place either. It might get crowded and I won’t be able to get a seat.” Eric shivers dramatically, as if legitimately afraid that one day, he would not be able to get a place at his favourite restaurant. 

He glares playfully at Juyeon while waving a threatening finger, “So don’t you dare tell anyone about this place.”

Juyeon mimics the action of zipping up his lips and throwing away the key before their boiling hot soup arrives from the kitchen. At first whiff, Juyeon already understands why Eric wouldn’t want anyone else knowing about this place. It smells heavenly, and if it tastes even half as good as it smells, then Juyeon might even become a regular here.

“You can tell me more about the membership thing, I’m all ears. Maybe you could change my mind” Juyeon says.

Shaking his head, Eric says, “Nah. I think it’s a lost cause, anyway. I wanna hear more about you.”

Slurping on the soup deliciously while not letting his gaze leave Juyeon, Eric doesn’t even blink when he jumps to another conversation topic. Pressured to fill their conversation with as much life and passion as Eric had while talking about membership points for a family restaurant, Juyeon starts to poke at his food. Unlike Eric, he doesn’t have any crazy stories or ideas. He’s just plain, boring Juyeon.

“I’m not that interesting, though?” Juyeon muses, trying to divert the attention from him.

“Tell me anything,” Eric probes, curious eyes pleading for Juyeon to give him something. “Something like… how’d you end up working at a convenience store? You’re not in college?”

That is a very direct question, but Juyeon doesn’t take offence at that. Eric’s probably just straightforward like that, there’s no way he means any harm. If anyone had asked him the same question, he would let them know of his past without any shame. 

But this is Eric, someone he’s slowly becoming fond of in a scary amount of time. 

“Hm… it’s a long story,” Juyeon chews on his bottom lip before continuing. He’s sure there's about a 99% chance Eric is not going to look for him ever again once he learns that Juyeon is an ex-convict, but so be it. He’s not going to hide who he is. 

“Long story short, I just got released. From prison.”

Withholding any sort of explanation he would usually jump at to be sure that the other party doesn’t get the wrong idea, Juyeon unconsciously holds his breath as he tries to figure out what Eric is thinking right now. 

While there are no physical signs of disgust or fear on Eric’s face (thank god), the other boy doesn’t say anything for a good minute. Juyeon contemplates playing it off as a joke, or just walking out of the store to save them both time - but none of those options seem like the right thing to do, so he just waits.

And suddenly, as if a spell was broken, Eric continues wolfing down his soup and rice in big bites.

“Okay… and?” he encourages Juyeon to elaborate.

“It was a whole thing,” Juyeon tries to speak as vaguely as he can, still not mentally ready to talk about it. “I was in there for three years, I was even accepted to a college before it happened. Of course I can’t go back, after being a bad person and all that. Right now, I’m just trying to make ends meet now. So… yeah. That’s my story.”

He adds in a despondent tone, “Sorry, I just spoiled the mood.”

“You’re not a bad person, though.”

Putting his chopsticks down carefully and then proceeding to wipe his mouth with some tissue, Eric repeats himself in case Juyeon misheard, “I said, you’re not a bad person. You shouldn’t say that about yourself. Would a bad person help me twice without expecting anything in return?”

Finding himself at a loss for words, Juyeon can’t help but feel his heart clench at Eric’s words. Even though he’s been taught to doubt the sincerity of people, there’s no mistaking that the other boy is as genuine as can be.

Surely, it frustrates Juyeon a little, because what would Eric know about him being a bad person? If society decided that that was who Juyeon was, who’s to say Eric - cute, kind, and naive Eric - knows any better?

“Thank you. That means a lot,” is what Juyeon says instead. Trying to lighten the mood, Juyeon jokes, “Thought you were gonna sprint out of here like everyone else.”

Eric frowns, and it's the first time Juyeon sees the boy show some sort of negative emotion on his face. “Don’t say that, I would never do that to you. I don’t really care about what happened in the past, what matters is who you are now, okay?”

If you told Juyeon a week ago that he would get a pep talk from a cute blonde with a stitched up cut on his forehead in an ox bone soup restaurant on a friday night, he would have laughed in your face.

But just like how Eric has become the 1% of people who would choose to continue eating with Juyeon even after knowing about his past, Juyeon chooses to believe that miracles really do exist - even for people like him.

**Author's Note:**

> they are both whipped but do not see it.
> 
> thank you for reading, next chapter will be uploaded soon, stay safe! comments are very much appreciated ♡


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